


Family Sticks Together

by TheUltimateFanGirl7



Series: Sabine al Ghul [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Family Bonding, Good Parent Talia al Ghul, Kidnapping, Secret family, but it’s cool cause it’s for a good cause
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25888996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheUltimateFanGirl7/pseuds/TheUltimateFanGirl7
Summary: Sometimes in life things don’t go your way,But you always have someone there to stay.They’ll always be at your side should them you need,And even sometimes when you don’t indeed.For of all the bonds that exist on Earth,There are none more than this that have such worth.A true family will always be there,A true family will always care.Alternatively: Talia loves her family and just wants them all to be happy, even if that means kidnapping her own son.
Relationships: Talia al Ghul & Sabine Cheng
Series: Sabine al Ghul [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883974
Comments: 18
Kudos: 189





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I could continue one of my other stories... or I could start something new!  
> ...in all honesty though, this is the most inspired for a writing piece I’ve been in a while. I have two chapters and am working on a third and I started writing it like a week ago and still had life outside of this. And this week was particularly chaotic.
> 
> Important info: Ra’s only had two children - Talia and Sabine. I know literally nothing about the others except that Nyssa exists and what they share about her in Arrow. To be honest I don’t know much (Anything) about Talia Either, so she’s completely OOC...
> 
> Chow for now ~TheUltimateFanGirl7

Ra’s Al Ghul wanted an heir. A male heir. He believed women to be weak and inferior. So he was understandably upset when the woman he had painstakingly chosen to have the honor of carrying and bearing his heir gave birth to a girl. Still, even if she was a puny girl, she was his daughter: his flesh and blood. He named her Talia, an insult hidden beneath a beautiful veneer, for she might have been his child, but she was still a girl. She was the League Princess and grew up under his strict rules and expectations, made even stronger because of her blood and gender. But Ra’s still sought an heir worthy of his legacy. He’d killed his previous conquest for having the audacity to give him a daughter instead of a son, so he had to track down another worthy woman. She’d barely recovered from the birthing process before she, too, was dead. Another girl was very much not what he wanted! He left the babe to Talia to care for. His firstborn was fifteen. She’d proven herself worthy of his name, even though she’d never inherit his title. He trusted she’d either rear her sister right or just kill the brat and be done with it. This new child might be his daughter as well, but he couldn’t really bring himself to care. He had a daughter already, what he wanted was a son.

Talia named her sister Sabine. And despite what Ra’s thought or expected, she hated him and loved her sister. She was smart. She knew he’d never care much for either of them because of their gender. She’d been out of the temple for missions quite often. She’d seen families - actual families, not just blood bound like her and Ra’s - interact and had been envious. So when the gods gave her a sister she was appreciative and made sure to care for the babe to the best of her abilities.

The years passed. Sabine grew up. She learned to fight and kill, but Talia also made sure to instill in her precious sister the importance of family. And she made it clear that Ra’s was not family.

“Families are formed by choice, not blood.” She’d always say.

Talia herself grew colder, more withdrawn and closed off the older she grew and the more pressure she was put under as Ra’s daughter. His only daughter, as far as anyone knew. The man himself insisted that his second child was stillborn and he never set out to have another. Sabine was kept locked in a secluded room in the temple that many had forgotten existed, let alone how to get there. Growing up, her sister was the only person she saw. It was a very lonely existence, especially as Talia shut down over the years.

Eventually, Talia realized that the best thing she could do for her beloved sister was to give her away. She deserved a life outside of the League. She deserved a life outside of fighting and shadows and cold and loneliness. She deserved a whole host of people who could love her openly and all the time.

When Sabine Al Ghul was twelve, her sister Talia smuggled her out of Nanda Parbat and into China under the guise of a mission. She was adopted by a couple who had always wanted a child of their own but were too busy for a baby. When she was thirteen, Ra’s Al Ghul was informed that his younger mistake had tried to sneak out of the compound but was caught and killed by a league member who obviously hadn’t known about her. Talia requested justice. Ra’s might not have cared for his daughter, but she was still his daughter, so he granted the request. No one besides the sisters had to know that the man who was killed and burned had been innocent of that particular crime.

On her fourteenth birthday, she officially became Sabine Cheng. Her new parents held her a party. Talia wasn’t able to make it because Ra’s had her in Spain assassinating some dignitaries, but she sent her love and a rather beautiful knife disguised as a fancy hair pin.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

The two sisters did their best to keep in touch. Talia visited when she could without arousing Ra’s suspicions. She dropped by at random a couple times a year, and always tried to be present for bigger events in her sister’s life, such as birthdays and various holidays. When she could not physically attend, she sent a disguised weapon. On Sabine’s sixteenth birthday, it was a dagger hidden as the tail of a dragon pendant on a necklace. When she graduated from high school, it was a set of senbons sewn into the lining of a dress.

When Sabine went on a college trip to France and fell in love with the son of a baker, Talia did her best not to outright kill or maim the man. Especially when she made the change of country permanent and married the man. She didn’t even bother hiding the katana collection she gave her sister at the wedding, declaring to the onlookers that she was an antique weapons collector and refurbisher. All the while she stared… Tom straight in the eye, ignoring her sister’s exasperation.

When Talia spent one of their rare girls’ nights sobbing about how she wanted a family - a child - of her own, Sabine helped her plot and find a way to do so without angering their father. When Tala fell pregnant, she was there to celebrate. Sabine was there when her sister tore herself up over telling her child about Sabine and Paris and the value of true family or not. She was there when Talia revealed the newborn was a boy, and that Ra’s was so proud and was pleased to finally have an heir. She was there when her sister came crashing in at three am one day sobbing about deciding to leave Damien in the dark about their family in Paris, due to the boy’s closeness with Ra’s and the danger it posed on Sabine and Tom and even Talia as she had lied and killed a loyal servant.

Sabine cried with Talia over how her little boy was growing up cold and empty and deadly. She knew it was as they had grown up, but it was still wrong. It still hurt.

When Damien was ten, Talia walked into the bakery with a melancholy look and Sabine immediately pulled her upstairs, handing off the register to Tom, and prepared her sister a cup of tea and some of her favorite scones.

“He’s with his father now.” Talia spoke after a while. “It won’t be long now before he hates me. I’ll probably never get to see him again.”

Sabine reached over the table and placed a hand on her sister’s.

“It’s what’s best for him.” She whispered.

Talia only smiled sadly. The rest of the visit was spent in silence.

The next day, the older of the two sat her younger sister down and explained that their father was dead. Ra’s body was destroyed beyond the Lazarus Pit’s capability, and so control of the League fell to her until Damien was of age. She confessed she was unsure what to do, as she had no doubt that the boy would either refuse or dismantle the league entirely when the time came. She admitted that it would be best, but that would leave all the members free to roam and kill without guidance or a restrainer. She wanted to reform the league, but wasn’t sure how to go about doing so without arousing suspicions from those who would remain loyal to Ra’s. Both sisters very carefully avoided mentioning how likely it was that their father wasn’t actually gone for good.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

When Sabine became pregnant, Talia entered ‘hovering protective older sibling’ mode. Sabine was not happy. Tom just thought it was impressive that she managed to do it from some undisclosed location several countries away surrounded by ruthless assassins and and a**hole of a father.

Talia was there when the baby was born exactly one month after Damien’s second birthday. To the happy new mother, she gifted a hand carved bow. Tom received a bunch of string and some priceless gems carved into different animals, so the gifts were easily passed as a disassembled mobile. To Marinette, her wonderful newborn niece, she gave a stuffed rabbit that had rocks sewn into the limbs. Tom was not pleased that his sister-in-law gave his baby daughter a weapon. Sabine was just glad it wasn’t sharp.

Over the next decade, Talia made sure to visit the happy family when she could. Damien made it both easier and harder. Ra’s monopolized a lot of the boy’s time - and in turn the boy monopolized his, training him to be the perfect heir, but she was still his mother and the daughter of the demon, so she needed to be present at quite a bit of training. She made sure to make it to Marinette’s birthday every year, somehow no one in the league noticed when their princess disappeared around the same time every year. She always brought her niece a fun (ha!) new weapon disguised as something else. Once it was some senbons in a basket of yarn because Marinette had just started knitting, did you know? and another time it was a bow staff disguised as a rainmaker. When Marinette showed an interest and talent at designing and making clothes, her Aunt Talia gave her a mannequin made up completely of disguised weapons. Like seriously. Marinette didn’t even know the names to some of them and every time she disassembled the da*n thing she discovered another.

Aunt Talia always liked talking about her son - Marinette’s cousin - Damien whenever she visited. The sisters had been sure to instill the same value of family and love into her that they themselves had lived on for so long. For a long time, Marinette wondered why she couldn’t meet her cousin if family was so important, and why did Aunt Talia look so sad when she talked about him? Sabine finally sat her down on her tenth birthday and explained. Marinette had cried herself to sleep that night, her only comfort that her Maman had escaped and Aunt Talia had them when she needed to, even if she couldn't just leave, and Cousin Damien was with his father and his father’s children now and they would help him and love him like Aunt Talia had never been allowed to.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

When Marinette Dupain-Cheng was twelve, she became Ladybug. She defended Paris and through that the entire world from the terrorist Hawkmoth. She wielded one of the most powerful weapons in existence. Aunt Talia told her she was proud. Tikki hadn’t been quite sure what to think of that. She’d been against a Marinette telling her family, but as soon as she mentioned the Miraculous, Aunt Talia had all but been in a warpath against Hawkmoth for abusing a ‘sacred object’ that was to be ‘cherished and revered’. Even more so when she discovered that children were tasked were retrieving it from him. Sure, her niece could fight, she’d made sure of that, but her sorry excuse of a partner obviously couldn’t. And they were children.

When Marinette was thirteen, Lila Rossi ripped away her friends, her crush revealed himself to be a spineless coward, her mentor lost his memories and left her in charge of all the Miraculous, and her partner only showed up to battles to flirt, distracting her and getting in her space. It took the combined efforts of Marinette, her mother, and all of the Kwami to stop Aunt Talia from retaliating on her behalf.

Aunt Talia had stepped down begrudgingly, but had left that night with a determined look on her face that made the Dupain-Chengs a bit afraid for the world.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

When he was fifteen years old, Damien Wayne was finally learning to be happy with life. He had a family that loved him, and who he loved in turn (but he’d never tell them that). He was Robin and on track to becoming Batman when his father retired from the cowl. He had a good friend in Jon Kent - Superboy - and school had even become tolerable.

Then he woke up one morning to the screams of a girl that looked like one of his father’s adoption victims before whatever trauma inevitably attracted him


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter up, and only a day after I intended! Woo, this is going great! Will i be able to get up a new chapter every other day or so?
> 
> Spoiler alert, no. Especially since school starts again in a week...
> 
> Chow for now ~TheUltimateFanGirl7

Okay, so in her defense, Marinette had not been expecting to come home from school and find a boy passed out in her room. So naturally the first thing she did was scream. His eyes snapped open just as her parents came crashing into the room, Maman twirling a kitchen knife and Papa wielding... a loaf of bread? The three of them stared at the stranger. He stared back, eyes narrowing. Bright green eyes. Eyes that looked suspiciously like Aunt Talia’s. Aunt Talia who’d had a son with Batman. Batman who was said to be the world’s greatest detective. Batman who was Bruce Wayne. A billionaire with connections. A billionaire with connections and a good legal team that would not stand for lies and slander against his family. A family who, according to Aunt Talia’s values, included Marinette, even if they’d never met and Wayne no doubt did not know she existed. Great. This was just great. At least she finally got to meet her cousin.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

Damien wasn’t sure what to think. His first thought was that one of these people had somehow managed to get a drop on him and brought him... wherever they were, but they had all clearly been shocked upon seeing him, though the girl had gone from shocked to resigned pretty quickly and the woman was admittedly difficult to read. The man clearly cared only for the well-being of his family, though his choice of weaponry was rather odd. The four of them had a brief stare-off, him against the family of three, before the woman lowered her knife, though kept it in his line of sight, and urged the man to put down his bread. The girl shifted, keeping him in view but now able to look to her parents for guidance. She shared an unreadable look with her mother, before the woman tucked the knife into the pocket of her apron and smiled warmly.

“Damien, it’s nice to finally meet you.” She spoke in English, knowing he’d be more comfortable with that language.

Damien was instantly on guard. These people knew him - had been expecting to meet him at some point - but were clearly not the same class as his family. The girl shot her mother a look before turning to him with a sunny smile that almost made him squint against its brilliance.

“What Maman means is Aunt Talia’s told us a lot about you. She wanted to bring you here years ago but was afraid that Ra’s would find out and react harshly.”

Damien tensed further, eyeing the family with further interest.

“You... know my mother?”

“Of course we do, dear. She’s my sister. My name is Sabine, this is my husband Tom, and of course our wonderful daughter Marinette.”

“Mother doesn’t have any siblings.” He said, narrowing his eyes at them further.

“That’s what /father dearest/ would like everyone to think.” Sabine responded bitterly. “I was always a disappointment just for existing. He wanted a son, he got your mother, he tried again, he got me. He preferred to forget about and ignore me. Talia raised me, I think he hoped she’d kill me, and she smuggled me to freedom when she could. She convinced him I’d died.”

“That doesn’t sound like Mother, though I can admit that Grandfather would do something like that.”

“Your mother is a great deal different than you might believe. She always believed in family before all else. She used to come crying to me when you were particularly cold towards her, or you emulated Ra’s particularly well. She left you with your father because she knew it was what was best for you, even though she knew he’d turn you against her, because it freed you from Ra’s shadow.”

Damien was silent, processing and contemplating. Parts of what she’d just said clashed with everything he knew... but at the same time a great deal of it made sense.

“What about my conception? Father was specifically chosen and drugged to create me.”

His... aunt smiled sadly, her husband his... uncle setting a hand on her shoulder.

“She wanted a child so badly it hurt her not to. We had to come up with some sort of plan for Ra’s to allow it. The child of Batman raised as one of the league... he couldn’t turn her down.”

The four of them sat in semi-awkward silence for a while after that, before he broke it asking,

“Why am I here?”

His... cousin, winced, bringing a hand up to tug lightly on her hair, eyes drifting across the room as she smiled sheepishly.

“That’s... kinda a long story.” She said.

He raised an eyebrow at her.

“I think I’ve got time.”

She hummed, and stepped forward, offering him a hand. He realized he was still half sitting, half lying on the ground from when she’d woken him up with her scream. He cautiously eyed her and the offered appendage before carefully taking her hand and allowing her to pull him to his feet, silently taking note of her unexpected strength for later.

“I suppose I should start by telling you were in France. Paris specifically.” She said, pulling him to sit on the chaise on one wall and simultaneously waving her parents off through the trapdoor in her floor. “And for nearly two years now we’ve been under constant attack from a terrorist who goes by Hawkmoth’s.” She held up a hand, silencing any remark before he could make it. “Please just listen without questions, I promise we’ll have time for that later, but right now it would be easier for me to just give you a rundown of the situation.

“Hawkmoth is powered by a powerful artifact called a Miraculous - the butterfly, specifically - that he has corrupted and is using for his own gain. He preys on negative emotions and sends out his evil butterflies to corrupt people and turn them into supervillains. He uses any negative emotion, from a child with a nightmare or a baby who wants a lollipop to a man badly humiliated on live television. One of the worst ones was a woman who found out her husband of fifteen years was cheating on her because the mistress broke in and killed him. And people die in these attacks. A girl was akumatized when the boy she liked rejected her. She flooded Paris. Out of the nearly twelve million who live in the city, I think I saw a couple hundred on the rooftops. Luckily, we have two heroes: Chat Noir and Ladybug. Ladybug’s power is to reverse all the damage and deaths as if the battle never happened.

Parisians have to suppress our emotions, we aren’t allowed to feel /anything/ because Hawkmoth could take advantage of a single bad moment.

Hawkmoth’s agenda is getting the Miraculous of the Black Cat and the Ladybug and combining them to make a wish. He could just wish for, I don’t know... a candy bar, but with the efforts he’s going through it’ll probably be much more destructive than that. And no matter the wish, there’ll be a devastating cost. A man wished for fruitful harvest, Mount Vesuvius erupted year later. A woman wanted her child to wake up after he was in an accident. The Black Plague arrived in Europe. History is full of wishes and their prices.”

Damien stared at her as she finished. It was hard to believe, but he’d heard weirder and he did know about the Miraculous due to his childhood in the League. But... she’d left something out of her explanation.

“There’s more, isn’t there.”

She glanced away, tugging nervously at her hair again.

“Chat Noir has stopped showing up to battles. When he does he’s harassing Ladybug, distracting her and forcing himself on her. When she turns him down he sits down and refuses to participate in the battle until /she/ apologizes to /him/.”

He narrowed his eyes.

“And...” she continued hesitantly. “I’m Ladybug.”

He growled, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. Despite having just met her, despite having just learned of her existence and her connection to him, despite /how they were connected/, she was his cousin. She was clearly younger than him, he’d put her somewhere between eleven and thirteen, and she was shouldering the fate of the world with an irresponsible partner who didn’t seem to understand the definition of the word no.

“I’m going to kill him.” He stated, jumping up and taking a few brisk steps to reach the trapdoor.

She grabbed his arm, pulling him from his plotting and forcing him to turn to face her, her eyes wide as she shook her head frantically.

“Damien, no! We just managed to dissuade Aunt Talia from doing that! I’m pretty sure that’s why she dumped you here!”

He huffed.

“I’m helping you. Once I tell Father I’m sure he’ll help as well. Have you tried contacting the Justice League?”

She looked at her feet, replying,

“Yes. Several times. Green Lantern told me stop prank calling them.”

He growled again. She released his arm, waving her own around as she babbled,

“But it’s okay! I mean, it’s hard enough fighting Akumatized civilians! Can you imagine fighting Akumatized Superman or Flash?! It’s much better for everyone if most of the League stays away.” Though...” she paused, continuing in a small voice, “I would appreciate any help you and your family can give me.”

He nodded sharply.

“Of course. You’re family.”

She beamed, hugging him. He blinked before awkwardly patting her on the back until she released him.

“There is something else you should know...” she trailed off, walking over the the dress form in the corner and turning it around, removing a panel on the back to reveal a cavity containing an old jewelry box.

“Cousin... please tell me that’s not what I think it is.” He said slowly.

She squeaked - honest to God squeaked - before lifting the lid and allowing a myriad of tiny, animal sprite things to fly out. Damien sighed, scrubbing his face with one hand.

“Marinette...”

She smiled sheepishly at him as the flying things - kwamii, if he remembered right - swarmed him, all chattering excitedly.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

Aunt Sabine had handed him the landline as soon as he and Marinette had stepped downstairs, before she vanished, Marinette promptly following after.

Alfred picked up on the second ring, his greeting drew the attention of the rest of the family, so the call was transferred to the Cave. Damien insisted he was safe and informed them of his location - reminding him that he’d didn’t actually know where he was besides the incredibly vague ‘Paris, France’ that his cousin had given earlier. He requested his father personally come to retrieve him, refusing to give a reason why or even explain how he’d gotten to Paris or why he was there to begin with. He assured his father and Grayson once again that he was fine and that he’d remain fine until they arrived, before hanging up. Aunt Sabine appeared as soon as the call clicked off - Damien absentmindedly decided she’d get along with Alfred - and took the phone from him, insisting he stay with them until his father arrived to collect him and refusing to take no for an answer.

Dinner that night was on par with Alfred’s cooking and he found himself... having fun. The family was no doubt incredibly dangerous - they were his maternal family after all - but they were also very relaxed and boisterous and he found himself relaxing and enjoying himself without even really noticing it was happening until it already had.

He went to bed with a small smile on his face, a hand knitted blanket that smelled of freshly baked bread and polished steel and strawberries wrapped around him.

/ ⸜(ᶿ᷇ധᶿ᷆)⸝ \

The next morning he woke up to his cousin flurrying around the room, a croissant in one hand and a hairbrush in the other. She only wore one boot, but she seemed to be using the other foot to gather various things - a sketchbook, a small purse, a messenger bag, a few loose papers - next to the trapdoor. Damien raised an eyebrow, impressed.

“Oh you’re awake! Good morning!” She greeted cheerfully between bites. “Do you want to stay here or wander the city today? I suppose you could come with me to school too, but you’d probably be bored.”

He hummed in thought before deciding to shadow her. He would like to get to know his newly discovered cousin better.

She looked conflicted about his answer as she shoved a pile of clothes in his arms and shooed him towards the bathroom.

He stared after her lightly dazed, before turning his attention to the clothes she’d given him. A simple green t-shirt with a leather jacket and black jeans. They looked well made, and the shirt matched his eyes near exactly. He wondered offhandedly where she got them and why she had them as he dressed, barely remembering having have seen them hanging on the closet door the previous night when she’d brought him up for bed.

They finally managed to get out the door of the bakery his cousin’s family apparently lived above after multiple hugs from both of her parents to both her and him. She’d also had to talk the Kwamii swarm from all going with them, though he’d agreed to wear the Rooster thumb ring and Monkey Circlet for the day. His cousin had expressed concern briefly, but any arguments about his health died before she managed to get them out. She no doubt knew he’d be able to handle it, and she couldn’t really say much behind experience because she herself had donned the Mouse necklace and the Turtle bracelet along side her regular Ladybug earrings. She’d also managed to change clothes three times. The first outfit she’d had on apparently had a rip in the skirt. The second was too big, while the third wasn’t actually completed yet and was still full of pins - at least according to all the yelps she made trying to get it on and then off. In the end, she settled on some skintight leather pants with knee high boots and a red tank top the color of blood.

Damien had initially been afraid they’d be late, only to discover that his cousin apparently lived conveniently across the street from her school.

His cousin was accosted by a blonde blur that flung itself at her with a scream of 

“Maaaarrrriiiiiiii!”

As soon as they’d arrived. When the blur stepped back, he was able to see it was a girl his cousin’s age dressed in a yellow and black striped dress, a bee comb he suspected was the Miraculous tucked into her ponytail. She eyed him so he returned the favor. His cousin wave her off, offering an explanation at a later date, linking her arm with the blonde’s as they walked up the steps. The two girls babbled together about various topics. Damien tuned them out, instead opting to study the school and the various people roaming around before classes stared.

When they stepped into the girls’ classroom, a shrill voice greeted his ears. Watching the way Marinette stiffened and automatically stepped closer to her blonde friend, Damien was hit with the growing realization that she may have left some things out of her explanation as to why his mother left him in Paris.


End file.
